


Alone together

by cabin13



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Italian translation, Songfic, english is not my first language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-20 07:51:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16551890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabin13/pseuds/cabin13
Summary: From the text:《There are so many foolish people around here... I don't know 'bout you, but sometimes I'm sure we're doing it right not to have any plan for the future nor have anything organized rather than live like those people, with thousand of worries and stews that influence your whole life》 the boy commented while staring at the bottom of his glass.At first the young woman said nothing, to her ears those words had a strange but at the same time true ring to it. Maybe it was a bit antithetical that such an expression had been said by a person who, like her, had been impatient towards his life's sense for so long; however, if she thought about it it was the truth.She was free. Free from compulsions, plans, expectations. She coped with her life on her own.[...] Two broken halves who found a way to be complete.-Songfic based on FOB song "Alone together"





	Alone together

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, I translated it from Italian so if there are any errors just lemme know and I'll fix it!  
> Based on the Fall Out Boy song "Alone together"

_I don't know where you're going, but do you got room for one more troubled soul?_

_I don't know where I'm going, but I don't think I'm coming home_  
_And I said I'll check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead_

Life in Ninjago was frenetic.

If possible, Kai was even more frenetic. Stubborn, rebellious, troubled.

Tired of carrying on and, at the same time, tired of feeling empty. For months he had been feeling a huge anguish that was destroying his heart.

Cole, Zane, Jay, even Lloyd. All of his best friends had achieved their lives, had understood what to do with them; they had their own dreams, their aims and they were giving their best to fulfill them.

But not him. He was like a bird in a cage waiting for being set free. The point was... was he really gonna be set free?

He felt like a ghost, a husk getting by on indifference; no ideas, no plans for the future. Did he have any ambitions? Believe it... He was lucky just finding a job as a warehouse worker in the littlest and most unknown supermarket in the whole Ninjago City. He couldn't ill afford big dreams like becoming a famous inventor or creating a new software for the Borg Industries.

He took his phone out of his jeans pocket and checked the time. 1:58. In the morning.

Great, he got lost in his own thoughts. Surely Nya would tell him off the next day, nevertheless, the boy didn't worry about that: he was used to his sister's tirades, knowing that she did it because she care about him. However, his mind was somewhere else in that moment.

He looked at his glass, filled with beer and put on the bar counter in front of him. He had taken two sips maybe, that beer tasted awful, as if he could expect something different from the dive bar he was in.

A dismal one, exactly like people around there. Including him.

He turned around when he suddenly heard the door open. A new customer showed up in the bar managing to catch everyone's attention. It was a very attractive girl, it seemed almost wrong that someone like her decided to go in such a place.

She completely ignored the gross whistles of some men and headed for the counter where also Kai was sitting at.

The brown-haired boy stole a glance at her. The first thing standing out was her reddish flame-ish hair tied up in a high ponytail, but also her soft and elegant features grabbed the eye. When he met her gaze, he saw that she was staring at him too. None of them turned around, they actually linked their eyes together.

Skylor, on her side, found that boy interesting, and not only because of his beauty. Of course that one played a good role - she was a girl after all -, but she felt there was something more.

She had no idea of what, intuition was guiding her.

_This is the road to ruin_  
_And we're starting at the end!_

Breaking the ice would cost her nothing, she had already lost what she could lose, so come what may.

《This beer really tastes awful as your grossed out face says?》 she joked pointing at the glass in front of Kai.

《Only if you don't hold your nose》 the boy answered with her same joking tone. 《If you do it, the taste gets a little better... Something like bitter sparkling water, I guess.》

He ignored the barkeep's nasty look when the man brought the girl her drink. She raised her glass to him toasting and he reciprocated her. However it was only her to drink the beer; Kai kept his glass far away from his mouth.

Skylor swallowed the liquid and turned her nose up, grossed out. More than shitty sparkling water, that beer reminded her of something else...

They spent many minutes without saying a word, each one focused on the countless thoughts spinning around in their minds. Both of them were intrigued by the other, there was something different compared to other people they'd met before.

It was Kai's turn to break the silence that time. 《Wanna drink something more decent? My treat... This beer has sicked me by now.》

He ordered a mojito for himself and a caipiroska for her.

The jingle of glasses clinking against each other echoed in the whole bar, making a couple of heads turn in their direction. Kai didn't still know the girl's name, but staying there, drinking with her in a dive bar, he got the impression he'd known her for ages.

《By the way, my name's Kai》 he introduced himself after taking another sip.

《Skylor》 the reddish girl simply answered 《And the next round is on me.》

In the end, they had three of those rounds.

It may have been due to the alcohol, or the girl simply wanted tho chat up, but both of them ended up sharing their most intimate issues - the ones they kept inside for too much time - with someone they met just twenty minutes before.

Skylor, like him, had nothing. No expectations and nowhere to go. She had fled from home, from what he understood. As soon as she had managed to, she'd gone away. A major she didn't want to attend, an oppressive father who valued only his own gains; she'd left everything behind. And she had run away as far as as possible; Ninjago City had grown her young hopes, but soon reality hit her like a streak of lighting.

The red-haired girl let off steam, brought to light fears and loneliness that teared up her soul. Listening to her the boy understood, word after word, how similar their lives were. They had no goals, deep inside they tormented their hearts wondering what was their purpose in life and if they would ever find it out.

_My heart is like a stallion_  
_They love it more when it's broken_

They were alone, that kind of people who counted only on themselves to pull through and hide all their scars.

《So, an achievement after the other》mumbled sarcastic Kai while mixing absent-mindedly his cocktail with the straw. As soon as he started uttering the skeletons in his closet, he felt immediately understood, the two of them seemed to have an empathy they didn't know about.

《A truckload, I can say》she smiled sadly, following his irony.

Life hadn't been kind with any of them, therefor it was like a stroke of luck that they met by chance in a suburban shitty bar in the middle of the night.

Usually people acted two ways when they saw how life had changed their souls: they shook their head giving them a disapproval look, or they stared at them feeling a false and inane sympathy that, to the boy's eyes, was meaningless.

Kai's cell phone vibrated all of sudden. It was a sms from Nya and it was clear that she was very, very pissed off.

_It's almost 3 fucking am. Where the fuck are you??_

But the young man didn't want to say goodbye to the girl who he seemed to share many traits with; his soul got lighter as it hadn't been in a year - or maybe more.

《Duties calling in?》 Skylor joked. She actually didn't want the boy to leave, too.

《My sister... Sometimes she's kinda annoying》 he shrugged his shoulders. He took his wallet and put the money for the drinks on the counter, then moved away the bar stool and headed for the exit.

The red-haired girl stayed and watch his back while he was walking away, she couldn't explain the strange feeling that had gripped her stomach when he had that message. While they were chatting together something enjoyable and natural arose but it just broke. And that, if possible, made her even more upset.

Kai was a stone's throw away from the exit when he suddenly decided to come back to the counter, where Skylor sat cross-legged and was finishing her cocktail. Without saying a word he took a napkin, stole the pen next to the cash register and quickly wrote down something. Then he got closer the girl and passed her the tissue.

《My phone number》 he explained in one breath 《So... If you ever wanna chat again... well, y'know, I am willing to.》

He put up the hood of his red hoodie, hid his hands in the pockets and, without waiting for an answer, he outside in the bar parking lot where his motorbike was. Maybe calling it "motorbike" was a bit exaggerated, as it was still the moped he used during high school - he had the driver's license, but he seldom needed the car, so only Nya used it.

He opened the dashboard and wore his helmet. While fastening the strap under his chin, he felt his pocket vibrate. He took out his phone and saw a message, but it was from an unknown number.

_It's Skylor. Just in case you wanna chat again too._

He couldn't help but smile.

~

_Do you wanna feel beautiful, do you wanna?_

It may be a stupid idea. Only a little. A little bit. A bit... too much. Okay, it was completely crazy. But she had no-one else to talk to.

It was an irrational act, but she couldn't take it anymore, she was sick of both people and their ignorant and false attitude.

She wasn't sad, no, don't even think about that. How many other times had she been thrown out on her ear, fired on the spot, and she hadn't batted an eye? But it was different that time, she was furious more than ever. Human stupidity had just showed her that it could reach even higher levels.

Pissed off, she grabbed her cell phone out of her bag and pressed the numbers on the touch screen. Before she managed to come up with any random words in order to give herself a little of decency, a sleepy voice answered the call.

《Yeah?》 Kai mumbled.

《Am I bothering?》she wanted to know, then reminded him who she was ; if he had forgotten about her, the young woman would have totally made an ass of herself phoning him.

《Of course I remember you!》 the boy confirmed 《Anyway, no, you're not bothering. I was doing nothing special... I was actually dying of boredom...》

Skylor felt more relieved as soon as she heard those words. 《Listen... Do you mind another chat?》

The red-haired girl didn't have to say it twice, as the brunet was glad she got in touch with him. At any rate he was home alone, all of his friends were busy: Nya and Lloyd were going the more nuts the more the exam session got closer, Jay and Zane were at work and Cole was with Seliel on a date.

Less than fifteen minutes later they were sitting in a bar not so far away from Ninjago City center. The girl had lost her umpteenth job as a shop assistant, but what had made her fly into a rage was getting fired only because she didn't have the right looks to be a shop assistant.

《But... Your face features?》her speaker was astonished. 《What a fucking kind of excuse is that?!》

《A shitty fucking one》Skylor grunted 《The manager told me that "I may convince customers to leave the shop in a hurry"! According to him I showed shop's image up.》

《There are so many foolish people around here... I don't know 'bout you, but sometimes I'm sure we're doing it right not to have any plan for the future nor have anything organized rather than live like those people, with thousand of worries and stews that influence your whole life》 the boy commented while staring at the bottom of his glass.

At first the young woman said nothing, to her ears those words had a strange but at the same time true ring to it. Maybe it was a bit antithetical that such an expression had been said by a person who, like her, had been impatient towards his life's sense for so long; however, if she thought about it it was the truth.

She was free. Free from compulsions, plans, expectations. She coped with her life on her own.

It was the first time in forever she realized that perspective of her living.

《You know what?》Kai continued 《Sometimes a big "fuck you" to this world can't be taken us off. When you can't take it anymore, or you're simply pissed off... Fuck off! Fuck off to this humanity, to this fucking society where you count nothing if you don't fit in the right standards》 he spoke with anger, the grudge he kept inside for so long now poured out with the strength of a swollen river.

Skylor listened to him amazed. The brunet said anything special, only let off steam, but, through that kind of "speech", he made her feel better. With his words he had made other people look like they were the wrong ones.

Maybe they should chat more often, she told herself.

~

_I'm outside the door, invite me in_  
_So we can go back and play pretend_  
_I'm on deck, I'm up next, tonight I'm high as a private jet_

Throughout weeks and months, both of them kept in touch more often and not only to cheer each other up. After knowing for three months, they were used to meeting up and getting in touch via Whatsapp daily.

The first time he spoke of Skylor with his sister, Nya turned up her nose. 《You met her in a bar... and spoke only for an hour》she often repeated him, but the young man paid no mind to those objections, he didn't see anything wrong in her. The other guys fooled him instead, asking when he would finally present them his girlfriend and Kai told them to fuck off every time. Their gatherings were disinterested, there wasn't any other second purpose: both of them enjoyed other's company just because they felt good together.

Almost a year and a half after they'd first met, the younger of the Smith siblings finally managed to meet the young woman who had brought a turning point in his brother's life. And she admitted that she had to change her mind about her.

《Everything okay?》 she asked at a certain point while Kai was out on the deck to throw away the empty pizza boxes. The red-haired girl had been invited to their apartament for a friendly dinner with her friend and the brunette.

《Sure... Why?》 the young woman asked back, confused by the question.

《You have a strange gaze. It's the same my brother has when something's bothering him and he pretends everything's alright.》

The girl did not know what to reply to those words. Was it really written on her face, so obvious? But she always did her best to hide the negativity tearing apart her soul; she would never expect someone with such a different spirit from hers to see through her like that. Maybe she'd overlook some human beings' empathy.

Or maybe she had mistaken the meaning of that night all together. Non era solo per farle incontrare Nya, who il giovane le aveva tanto parlato of. Kai le aveva aperto la porta della sua vita, per farle capire che adesso anche lei poteva considerarsi importante per lui.

Throughout a year lots of things had changed. Non era vero che non aveva più nulla, che doveva arrangiarsi per andare avanti.

Someone she could count on now was there.

~

_Let's be alone together_  
_We could stay young forever_  
_Scream it from the top of your lungs, lungs, lungs_

Two broken halves who found a way to be complete.

Kai took years to realize what him and Skylor symbolized. Two souls that in spite of their shards, the demons they brought within, managed to become a whole.

Probably their instinct had understood it long before them. Their curiosity, their sixth sense, faith, they didn't know how to properly call it but they did know that it had acted for them during that late night. It seemed like ages ago.

Kai found the person who could set him free from the cage his life had been trapped for months and months, victim of the anguish  that made his spirit empty like a shell. The key was Skylor.

Everything seemed completely right while he was holding her close to him. Everything fitted  perfectly: his hands on her hips, his body leaning against hers and their lips unite in a kiss that was like fire in his veins.

He didn't give a darn that they were under the pouring rain, that none of them had an umbrella, that it was late January and he wore nothing warmer than a sweatshirt.

He ran towards her in the middle of the road and shouted it to her face, even if it meant looking completely stupid. She was the only one pushing him to pull through, without her nothing had sense to him; everything became grey, useless, empty.

The red-haired girl dashed between his arms and clung to him like she'd never want to let him go, grabbing to his clothes and buried her face in his recess shoulder. She whispered something to his hear, then moved her hands to lay on his forearms.

And the kiss that both had waited and wished for too much time had loaded and instilled them with any kind of emotion: love and passion, affection, strength. All te feelings they discovered thank to the other.

_Let's be alone together_  
_We could stay young forever_  
_We'll stay young, young, young_

Alone but together.

They'd been since the very first time they met, when they'd understood they were much more than similar.

Alone.

Because loneliness and impatience isolated and tore apart their souls, life let them down, slapped useless back into face.

Together.

Because despite anything they got up again every time and found in each other the strength they needed. They freed their spirits, like birds whose cage finally got opened.

Soaked to the bone, under a freezing cloudburst, they knew they were ready to find out the true meaning of their life together.

 


End file.
